THE
NOVEMBER 24, 1923
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
57
~.&~ ~~ijE~~~T1tJ; }~a\i~Rr¥
NEW METHODS OF FINISHING MAHOGANY IN POLYCHROME
BUVS THE COUNTRY'S CHAMPION
Interesting Description of Methods Used in Making This Popular Finish a Simulation of Antique
A, C . Cheney Purchases "Deanie's Marose,"
Champion Holstein Bu11 of the United States
Bright-colored Finishes Softened by Age and Long Wear
'vVith the increased demand and consequent
production of art-case model grands during the
paq ·few seaso n s , attention to case finishing h as
become a .most pertinent issue to the s ucces ofu l
manufacturer. A number of interesting point s
on the ~ ubje ct of "Pol yc hrom e Finish on ~I'ra
hogany" are brou g ht out in a rece nt issue of
Ven eers, wh ich apply to piano cases a s well as
table top s and chairs. Veneers says:
"We all gra nt that polychrome is understood
and co nceiv ed to be a d ecorative sc hem e in
whi ch bright colors , but softened through by
the ages, blend into eac h other, and thi s blend
in g fu, thered by the accumulation of the y ears
of dust, permitting only the hi·gh spots of color
and gildin g to sho w through. To portray a
thing of this kind as a d ecoration to a modern
piece of furniture is truly it work of art, and,
unfo rtu nat e ly, many o f the a ttempts to add to
the beauty of the piece in hand have reall y
fallen flat and undoubtedly would not have been
up to thinking that anything t-o ·which co lor,
have been a dded was polychrome, and that poly
chro me w as all th e ragT. Suc h products have
be en relegated to the past, and many of them
ha ve: been refinished.
"INe must ca ution the dec ora tor not to drift
Ilis de corative wor k ov e r into the Japan ese art.
L:nders tand that ename led furniture is decorated
,I.nd this wo rk is often done by Japanese. To
day, a pretty piece of decoration is level
thr oug hout , by whi ch we mean, the decoration
appears as though it were inlaid- b eco min g a
part of the e namel coat, and we all know and
Llnd erstan d that the J aps have a way of han
dling co lors th at is ve ry s trik,in g, a nd our ar tists
:t ttemptin g to do polychrome work are very apt
to confus e the two , addi ng one more r eason
why the public did not welcome or take to
pol yc hrome. The matter of colors is simple,
and instead of buying artist tubes, we suggest
that decorators' colors a re employ ed. \Ve find
~
The man who uses Behlen's Varnish
Crack Eradicator can afford to figure
lower, yet makes more profit on a re
finishing job, than the man who does
not use it.
The reason-he saves the time, trouble
and expense of scraping off the old var
nish and shellac and the finished job is
just as satisfactory, too--if not more so.
Send for
try it.
that the following list affoTds all the possible
s h a des that are u se d: Iv ory black, lamp black,
burnt sienna, burnt umbcr, raw sienna, raw um
b e r, va nd yke brown , sepia, chrome g re en in
light, medium, de ep, emerald viridian, zinc
green, Pruss ian blue, ultramarin e, cerulean, vio
let, crimson lake, Indi an red, Vene tian red, ver
milion, c hrom e yellow in li ght, medium and
ora nge, lemo n yellow, y e llow ochre, yellow lake,
decorators ' white, z inc w hite and found at ion
white
"These are co lor s gr ound in oil, and ar e. so
con stitut(~ d that one and all will mix with ea c h
other without any injury to themsel ves, by
IVhich is me ant that there are no chemical
cha nges to take place th at might a lt e r the s had e
afte r the wo rk has been done; in other words,
permanent sllades are produced. 'vVith thes e
colors, th en, are produced, by blending·, what
one might call 'half tones.'
Applied to the
work , say first in the flutings, a nd recesses, in
their brilliant form, blendin.Q; o ut into the next
s hade. Never i:; a ver y bright colo r p ermitted
to predominate.
"Pict ur e to yourseii a table top built with a
2~1 -inch border inlai d with a hardwood, and
whi ch is to be decor ate d 111 polychrome. It's a
diffi cu lt thin g to put a gold border around and
on this gold border do the p olyc hrom e decorat
ing without gett ing ov er onto the varni sh sur
face, but w hen it is accomplished, it is a thing of
beauty, and when it is well don e it is so s trik
in g that peop le want it, a nd that is why live
rn anufac tur e rs, peo ple \,ho make specialty prod
LlCt S, wi ll t ake the time and labor n ecessary to
produce thi s so rt of finish. This gold , th en,
usually a linin g of powdere d bronze, is app lied
w ith a b rush, shellac bein g· th e vehicle, a nd in
order to ma ke it saic a ~cratch line or r o uting
of about 3/16 inch may be used. After this
go ld bord e r has been perfe cted th e co lorin g is
done a nd thr oug h it the gold is allowed to show
in varyinc; d eg rees. The offset, th at is the' rout
ing part, is the'll carefu ll y colored in bla ck, thi s
done by colorin g shellac \I ith spirit black. .\ftcr
" II of this ha s been accomplished some care
fully protect the colors w ith a wa
she lla c and th e n varn is h the coat. Furniture of
th is quality may r ecei ve two coats on top of the
first two, making four coats of varn ish in all.
Just a word ab out this va r nis h; a thin goo d
va rni sh is us ed. It is not the quantity that you
pile on, but th e qua lity.
"This is rubbcd flat. Do not a llow yo ur se ll
to co n ceal a ch eap piece of furnitur e m ade up
in this wa y. The ven eers are selected wood."
CASTLETO N, N. Y., ~o vem ber 19.- A . C. Cheney,
president of th e A . C. Chene y Piano Action Co.,
has purch ase d "Dean ie' s Marose," the grand na
"Deanie's Marose"
tiona I champ ion pr ize Hol stein bull of the
l : nited States.
i\ifr. Cheney maint ai ns a fine
stork iarm, "Chen wold:' in this town and his
herd s , o f th e best blooded stoc k, rank amon g
th e Jin e:; t any\vhere. His new bull cOllies from
.\ppletree Point l'arm s , .\Je w Yo rk , with a
sp lendid record, a nd Mr. Cheney has received
the congratulation s of m any friends in th e tr ade
upon his good fortune in obtainin g the thor
oughbred.
SCHMIDT CO. REORGANIZATION
Adolph Stem Becomes General Manager
Christian W. Schmidt Is Plant Su~erintendent
POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., Nov ember 19. -·- The D av id
H. Sc hmidt Co. anno unced to-clay that it h ad
complet ed reorgani za tion plans following the
r ecent death o f the head of the concern, th e
laLe David H. Schmidt. L:nder the dir ectio n of
Ado lph Stern, the n ew ge neral manager, who
was secr etary of the company for many ye ars,
th e poJicie~ of the former pres iden t will b e ca r
ried out. ( hristi a n VIi. Schmidt will continue
~s plant sup eri ntend ent.
The David H. Schmidt Co. is one of the la rg
est lIJ a nuiactu re rs of piano hammers in th e
trade. It is one of the old est co mpanies as
well , hav ing been founded in 1856 b y John Fred
er ick Schmidt, father of the late David H.
Schmidt. The con cern was or iginall y loca t ed in
Nnv York City, w here it was in co rporated in
1908, an d mo veg to Poughkeepsie for the sake
of Jarger space in 1912. A large, well- eq uipp ed
factory is no w operating at full capacity and
a brisk business is being done.
Monarch Tool & Mlg.Co.
WItU Boxe., Macazlne Slot Boxee,
Coin Slid..., Beron Machin"., Mon"y
Boxe., Pump., Pump Hardware. 8pe
elal Part. Made to Order.
a sample can today and
120 Op"ra Pia""
CINOINNATI, O.
Leather Specially,
Tanned for Player~
Pianos and Organs.
Also Chamois
Sheepskins, Indias.
and Skivers
A Sp
H. BEHLEN & BRO.
Anilines
Shellacs
THE
~
Stains
Fillers
10-12 Christopher St., New York
Near 6th Ave., and 8th St.
C)tclusipe manufacturers ~
PiaI\.o Bench.es
and Musie eabinets
lVrite/o7'cafalos (U1d details
1
George H. Harper Co.
Orange, N. J.
AI{T NOVELTVCO.
Pneumatic and
Pouch Skin Lf'.athcrs
GOSHEN
INDIANA
VENEERS
Circassian Walnut, Oak, Walnut
and Specializing on Mahogany.
Capacity-S Million Feet